Prof Al Rumaihi’s work enlightens, inspires

‘Arab society remains dominated by tribal traditions’

This is the third in a series of articles on Prof Mohammad Ghanim Al-Rumaihi, an outstanding thinker and writer.

Special to the Arab Times rojecting his pondering into the future Professor Mohammed Al Rumaihi writes

“In the consumer society that now prevails in the Gulf, the ruling clan in the form of the state, acts as principle distributor of oil income. This is reflected in social relations and political institutions”.

“It is the tribal system itself which forms the basis of all forms of assistance such as: appointment to government posts, entry into the police or armed force, or state expenditure on the civilian sector through merchants and contractors”.

“This system, held together by a tripartite alliance: the conservative authority (ruling clan), the owners of commercial capital, and the top layers of educated elite, creates two basic social classes”.

“Of the two classes the dominant one has close connection with the ruling clan, the other – the social class is divided into two sub-classes, one formed by top and middle ranking government employees, the other is formed by the low ranking government employees – the Bedouin proletariat”, the local unskilled workers and the immigrant workers.

“It is this class, whose dependence on the consumption of imported goods perpetuates the social formation”.

“All these groups demand increase in consumption which necessarily leads to rely on Western sources of production.”

“But other ambitions run counter to this trend. The class that controls consumption, specially the mercantile capitalist, seek higher profits both inside and outside the state.”

“They thus favor industrialization: the establishment of new industries, a concentration of capital in productive industries, a reduction of immigrant workers, a monopoly on import concession and an important role for their own members in joint government

PBy Lidia Qattan

– Editor

and private sectors companies.”

Economic

“These activities will lead to an increase in economic weight at the expense of foreign interests, and to the removal from the Gulf market foreign banks, insurance companies and merchants.”

The Professor continues: “These indigenous groups will also try to gain a share of political power and to obtain legislation regulating the foreign work-force”

“A clear decision on political participation is a requisite for this”. “The administration will have to be modernized, to achieve greater flexibility and competence”.

Pondering on this fact Professor Rumaihi continues:

“Political and social integration requires a strategy and an ideology which stresses on the concept of patriotism, equality of opportunity, and the just application of the law to all groups”.

Incidentally, everywhere in the world the status of woman is determined by social, cultural and political factors which need to be profoundly reviewed in order for women to get their human rights.

Pondering on the present status of women in the Gulf countries and on the conflict of neo-traditionalist with modernists, Professor Mohammed Al Rumaihi wrote his point view-probing deep into the real cause of the phenomenon.

Looking at the situation objectively he writes: “There is no real hope that the present education system will help to bring about any real qualitative improvement in the position of women. It is devoid of any real content, any real perspective of development”.

“The Gulf society is profoundly contradictory. It contains elements of both desert and urban life, and despite rapid economic expansion, it remains dominated by tribal traditions. The ensuing contradictions are apparent both in the

Lidia Qattan

Prof Mohammad

family and in the social position of women.”

The Professor further points out that tribal and religious traditions, which kept families from intermarrying with outsiders in the past, persists yet stronger today in order to keep wealth and power within the bonds of those who have it.

Pondering on the fact that neither education nor the new economic situation has done much to change the social position of woman in the Gulf countries, he writes:

“Generally speaking, women are still considered the private property of men”.

Freedom

“Traditionally women are viewed as the bearer of family honor”. “Any social undesirable behavior on the part of woman sullies the honor of the family. Hence, although the older forms of seclusion have changed because of modern economic conditions, the content remains the same”.

“Following a period of relative freedom in the educated Gulf society in the sixties, in the seventies, neotraditionalists began to make their weight felt and many women started wearing the ‘Hijab’.”

“What neo-traditionalists are actually advocating is a return to the total seclusion of women manifested in the issue that applies to a whole series of behavior – Women’s seclusion from men while studying and at work ... the refusal to allow women into areas of education that subsequently lead them to associate with men.”

The Professor points out, “Back in mid-fifties and sixties women in Kuwait and in Bahrain began to participate in politics together with men”.

“Women burned their veils in protest against obstacles to their full participation in social affairs but by midseventies the pioneers had to endure the wrath of the neo-traditionalists for the re-imposition of the veil.”

“This contradictory wind of social change is a sign that society is undergoing profound changes because of the grave crisis it is experiencing. The crisis itself is the result of the conflict between traditional values and the hegemony of power of neoimperialism”.

“The debate about creativity and non-Islamic innovations, between modernization and tradition, between emancipation and regression is part of the general argument”.

“The conflict will continue till we arrive at an understanding of the laws and distinct characteristic of Arab society in the neo-imperialist era.”

Culture is a double edged sword; it is at once a source of human mental development as well as a powerful crippling obstacle to its progress.

Pondering on this fact Professor Mohammed Al Rumaihi writes:

“Before the discovery of oil, art, dance, thought, and literature of the Gulf were linked directly to everyday life.”

“The producer of culture lived within and gave expression to the environment, reflecting material and spiritual deprivation, but also the desire for a better life. With development, cultural alienation has become confused with real culture”.

“One sign of alienation is the tension between primitive religious views and the need to come to term with science and secularism. “This has led to a split personality among the people of the Gulf.”

“One trend, inclined towards liberal thought is humanitarian oriented and avails itself of scientific methodology in analyzing social problems. The other, described as religious extremism, is characterized by ossified thinking, excessive concern with liberalism, oriented towards questions of behavior rather than belief”.

“Development requires structural social-cultural changes; the present cultural patterns are based on the traditional social structure. This is the heart of the problem”.